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Player evaluation: Lewis

TREVOR LEWISThis season: 6 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 0 penalty minutes, 11:36 average ice time.The good: Either through reality or mere perception, it seemed as though Lewis’ stock was slipping within the organization before this season. He had only 12 goals and 16 assists in 76 games with Manchester in 2007-08. He rebounded nicely this season though, and totaled 20 goals and 31 assists in 75 games in the AHL. His work ethic also impressed Kings management enough to earn him a brief December call-up, and at one point he was playing first-line minutes. Lewis put himself squarely in the forefront in terms of forward prospects.The bad: Six games at the NHL level isn’t much to judge. It was a good cup of coffee for Lewis, but he will have to prove that he can consistently play at the NHL level. One issue might be where Lewis fits. His offensive numbers, even though they were better this season, weren’t overwhelming at the AHL level, so it’s hard to see him stepping into a top-six forward role right now. For now, is he ready to replace Derek Armstrong as a fourth-line center?Going forward: It seems likely that Lewis will be given a chance to earn a roster spot in training camp, but his margin for error will be slim. At age 22, he’s certainly young enough to spend another season in the AHL without giving the appearance that he’s simply treading water, but the potential is there for Lewis to at least claim a fourth-line role.

Lewis brings something Army and for the most part all of the 4th liners don’t…speed.

JDM

Me likey Lewis.

Quisp

mrbrett7 –

Yes, yes. Speed. Offensive upside. Extremely well-rounded, balanced, two-way game. Excellent defensively. He is an ideal upgrade to Calder and/or Armstrong for third or fourth line duty, at wing or center. He should make the team next year. I will be sad if he doesn’t; though as Rich said he can safely play out another season in Manchester if need be.

variable

he hasn’t really showed us anything to “wow” at just yet…another 50/50 chance player the kings have…he’s somewhere between potentially a #7 to #12 d.l. “box” player…and, again, lewis can go either way…
training camp will probably spell his immediate future with the team…but we are sooooo loaded with players like lewis…something’s gotta give…or go…
i can totally see him starting in manchester and getting called up based upon performance and/or injury replacement…

AK47

variable-

you have some solid arguments except the ending of it. You say we have lots of player like Trevor Lewis, but I disagree.. IMO, he’s better then Purcell, Moulson, Moller, Azevedo, Clune, Parse, Boyle and maybe even Simmonds..

But then again, I have a man crush on him, so maybe I’m just hyping him up way too much. With that being said, I think he makes the team next year. If we don’t get a sniper or make a huge splash, I can see him on our SECOND line, yes I said it, second line.

variable

ak…

hey…i have nooooo problem with that and you being right on him…

but…as you can see…we just have soooo many of these guys…and, in the grand scheme of things, that’s not a bad thing to have…

however, somewhere down the immediate road, d.l. has to really take inventory of what is going to fit and work out and what isn’t…

that’s why the upcoming off-season workouts and next season’s training camp is the most vital it has been in years to this organization’s future…i can’t stress that enough…

couple that w/the draft, the fro & jj situations and any potential ufa/fa signings…and you have the most important off-season in this team’s history…and it’s not even close…!!!!

mrbrett7

I think you may be hyping him there a bit AK.

You also need to remember different players bring different talents to the game, all needed to win.

Simmonds probably will never be a 30 goal scorer (although I would take it), but he may end up being the best defensive forward this franchise has ever had, and without player like him, you do NOT win games.

But, more upside than Moller or Purcell? I don’t agree there one bit…at least not offensively. Purcell is gifted like O’Sullivan is gifted. Moller has a passion for the game that can’t be taught, to go with excellent hands, and great vision.

We all need to remember, most of these kids are kids. They are still learning the game.

Ersberg

He’s a keeper.

Bye, Calder.

brianguy

incomplete, I can’t even give a numerical rating. I’d love to see him come in and have an impact next season if possible

darko25o

If he is better than “Purcell, Moulson, Moller, Azevedo, Clune, Parse, Boyle and maybe even Simmonds..”
-Then why is no one ever talking about him in the NHL, and why are no GMs pitching for him?
Purcell was one of the most sought after commodities in free agency a couple years back, that LA was actually suprised they landed him. Brian Burke looooooooves Moller, which means other GMs will follow suit. Simmonds is the freakin man. After the year he had, and the potential he has, there isn’t a team in the NHL who wouldn’t want him.

Johnny Kick a Hole In The Sky

Trevor Lewis will be the successor to Michal Handzus. Smart two-way layer with speed and skill. Excellent player to have in your system.

Whochuk Shuchuk

2nd line center??? Not sure what he has done to warrant that. Out of the draft he was seen even then as a stud 3rd line center in the mold of a Brind’Amour. I think ideally next season he’ll intern in the 4th line center spot and then take over on the 3rd line when he either proves he is better than Zues, or Zues’ contract expires. The future I see has him, Simmer, and Brown rolling on a very effective 3rd line

Quisp

Trevor Lewis will certainly have a career in the NHL; the question is, will his offensive skills flourish or will he be a highly skilled defensive specialist a la Eric Belanger? At this point, the safe money is on solid and sometimes offensively productive third line center or winger. But he has the skills to play top-six (as does Belanger, if need be). Comparisons to Purcell, Moller, and the other prospects are interesting but it’s a mistake to say that we “have a lot of these guys.” First of all, he’s not a fifty/fifty guy. He will play in the NHL. He’s a very solid hockey player, two way, smart, defensive, speed, chops. He’s already shown that he looks not at all out of place with the big boys; this year it appeared mostly to be a question of him or Calder and/or looking for more offense and/or the right fit with the first line. With one of Calder or Armstrong (and maybe both) almost certainly moving on, Lewis is a natural choice to play that third line role. Hopefully, it will be “his job to lose.”

However, comparisons to other prospects:

Moller is far more skilled offensively, smaller, but no less responsible on the defensive side of the puck. Moller is without a doubt in my mind the superior asset in every way except that he’s younger and not as physically mature.

Purcell has offensive chops Lewis doesn’t have, but is defensively weaker (or has been to this point).

Simmonds has proven himself in every way at the NHL level except as a scoring threat, although obviously we have seen glimmers of possibility. He’s a step ahead of Lewis for that reason, and because of his size and the fact that he’s younger than Lewis and will GROW, his upside is much bigger.

Boyle was not as good as Lewis in either league this year. But he’s nine feet tall.

Clune, Parse, Azevedo, etc., haven’t played an NHL game yet. They’re in the “class” below Lewis.

I do hope Trevor Lewis makes the team out of camp this year. if not, the season after.

darko25o

Lewis would have to beat out Moller for the 4th line, and I don’t see that happening.
Heres my reasoning:
Moller is a solid fourth line centerman, and his style and skill is not unlike that of Claude Giroux-Flyers if you haven’t seen him, he’s a good one. I belive he’s at least a year younger than Giroux, who has been paired with Gagne, and I think he’s only one spot ahead of Moller on the all-round prospect list. I’m a firm believer in the saying, “your team is only as strong as your weakest player”…and if Moller is our weakest center, we are on the right track, in a big way! For him to play at the level he has at such a young age is incredible, and the same can be said for simmonds. The Swedes give alot of players huge hype, and for the most part, they are right on in their assesment of talent. Moller was the captain of the Swedish junior national team, which is unheard of for a player who plays outside the country….that says alot

bw

Rich, how do you figure Lewis is a marginal fourth liner and Moller is a big part of the Kings’ future? Lewis has better points per game in the AHL and the NHL this year and had a better +/- in the NHL. He’s bigger, stronger, and just as fast. What’s more, when Lewis was put on a line in Manchester with Marty Murray and Matt Moulson, he came on strong down the stretch (5 goals and 7 assists in his last 12 games) while Moller faded. I don’t understand why the Kings seem to baby some players while others have to fight and claw for everything they get, and are given as you described it “no margin for error”, this case in point.

Quisp

darko25o, re Moller/Lewis:

I don’t think so. Subtract Calder and Armstrong. Probably subtract Richardson, but I don’t know at what point (maybe RIchardson is the one Lewis beats out).

Handzus, Simmonds, Purcell, Boyle, Moller, Lewis, Ivanans, Zeiler, Richardson. That’s nine names, of whom only eight will make the roster, and two of those eight will be regular scratches. I would assume Ivanans or someone like him will be one of those eight. And Zeiler or someone like Zeiler will be another one. Two players like Zeiler are Clune, if he’s ready, or Matt Ellis, who is a UFA.

Handzus and Simmonds will make the team, obviously. So that’s Handzus, Simmonds, Ivanans (or similar), Zeiler (or similar), taking four of the last eight spots.

I would say, given Moller’s competiveness and leadership and drive, there is simply no way in hell he’s going to let himself get beat out by any of those guys. So I will give one of those spots to Moller.

I have a couple (okay, four) thoughts about this. (1) Boyle had better show up ready, because if he doesn’t, Wudrick may out-Boyle him and earn a spot. (2) one of Loktionov or Azevedo could be the “surprise” of camp. (3) If Azevedo is possible, he might be able to take the Zeiler agitator spot; or maybe I’m just picturing Theo Fleury. (4) If Wudrick and Boyle both show up mean and evil, then maybe — please god — they can both make it and we can get rid of the lumbering Ivanans project. I can dream can’t I? (5) bonus thought: Cliche could give Lewis a run for his money. Who knows.

In any case, I certainly don’t see it as a choice between Moller or Lewis.

darko25o

Quisp,
Again, the team isn’t very likely to put moller on the Zeus line, if they were, they would have done so during the end of the season. Since Boyle is a centerman, and Purcell seems to have no chemistry with Boyle, compounded with the fact that Murray will probably put a goon on the other 4th wing, Lewis would need to come into camp better than Moller for the simple fact that he has proven more than Boyle, and all the other prospects you listed. So how would he find a place on any line if he can’t beat out Moller?!
…Lewis isn’t going to play the wing. Also, as much as cliche is hyped, where would he play? He’s too small to take Rat’s spot, and if they wanted an energy fighter type, you have to go with Clune

Quisp

Lewis can play wing, as he did when he was up this season. Moller and Handzus were together much of the first half of the season, so I don’t understand why it’s not likely now, or what that has to do with anything.

There are several line combination issues to be worked out. The big problem, if you ask me, is that we have several third line centers, no second or fourth line centers, and no definition for what the bottom two lines should be, other than one “shut down” line and one default catch-all sorta goony line with leftovers on it.

See, there’s the Handzus/Simmonds chemistry. Simmonds may be destined for second line duty. But his chemistry with Handzus and their mutual defensive abilities suggests third line — checking line — duty. If they’re a checking line, put Lewis on the other wing. He’s simply better suited to that line and that kind of responsibility than anyone else. Maybe Cliche could give him a run for his money, but Cliche is primarily a right wing, like Simmonds.

But, see, Brown and Stoll have the same kind of chemistry, and they are also for better or worse kind of third line-ish. You could put a scoring winger on the other side (e.g. Purcell) and force them into second-line duty. Or a power forward in training like Wudrick, and you’d have a crash-and-bang kind of third line. Now… if you had this kind of crash and bang third line AND the defensive shut-down third line with Handzus, you’d have an excellent third and fourth line; aside from the fact that you’d have three of your biggest contracts on the bottom lines, and people would be freaking out (in places like here) about Brown being on the third line and Simmonds and Handzus being on the fourth line, or whatever, I would love this. It would also mean no Ivanans, for better or worse (better).

Then you would have a second line of Boyle and Moller and someone, or Loktionov and Moller, or whatever. Depending on who gets signed to be that other top-line sniper.

If it’s Hossa (or similar; a right wing), then you’ve got Frolov/Kopitar/Hossa and Moller/Williams and a winger. If it’s a left wing, you’ve got xx/Kopitar/Williams and Frolov/Moller/someone, or Frolov/Boyle/Moller or whatever. This depends on Moller being ready for second line duty, which I don’t think is a stretch given this is what he was doing last fall before he went off to the WJC. Will Boyle be ready? Who knows. Will Loktionov or Azevedo make it? Ditto, I don’t know.

Also, the whole idea of a Stoll/Brown line and a Handzus/Simmonds line, both of which would be essentially third lines, and which would be functioning as third and fourth lines , would mean that TM would have to roll four lines with balanced ice-time. Which would be good, but I don’t see it happening. It certainly didn’t this year. So you would have to call the Stoll line the second line, and the Moller line the fourth line, but then you’ve got Frolov on the fourth line, and again, people would be freaking out.

One solution to that would be Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds, which worked well this year and was an obvious second line. As a line it probably would have stayed together if TM hadn’t broken it up in his search for someone for Kopitar to play with.

So say Murray goes back to that…

That leaves you with:

xx/Kopitar/xx
Frolov/Handzus/Simmonds
yy/Stoll/Brown
zz/zz/zz

Again, I would put Lewis in the yy position. That’s a good line. And in this case, either Moller and a UFA in the xx positions, or Purcell and a UFA. Then I would make a kid line for the fourth line.

I like your reasoning brother.. I just looked up Geordie Wudrick, wow he’s a beast. 6’4″, 215 lbs, left wing. Wooohoooo I’m pumped for this kid to develop and come into his own. Once again, another nice pick by our savior DL. Unfortunately, I don’t think Andrei Loktionov is ready for the NHL yet, let’s give him another year in the OHL and then maybe the season after that he cracks the lineup, but what do I know, right? Maybe he’s the Simmonds of 2009-2010.. We can only hope

darko25o

Quisp,
The fact that you think Lewis will play wing, and i don’t, is the summation of our entire disagreement : ) I’m a firm believer in our 1st pick being NHL ready, unless its MSP(I think he’s only 17). So that would be one more position gone on the third or fourth. You do make some very good arguments, and I see where you’re coming from.
AK,
I completely agree with you on Lokti. Its also really hard to tell just how good he is because he’s playing on a line with Hall…..
During last year’s draft, I was happy about getting Doughty, even though I had been leaning towards Bogosian-very happy to be wrong : )-but Lokti and Voinov, I thought, were the biggest pick ups for our organization

Quisp

AK47 –

Yes. And as darko25o is alluding to, there isn’t room (by design) for more than a couple of prospects to make the jump every year. Right now, there is a bunch of them — Lewis, Boyle, Clune, Cliche, Loktionov, Azevedo, Wudrick, Tuebert, Hickey, Voynov, Bernier, Zatkoff, Jones — and I think it’s likely we’ll see no more than three or four of them next season. Lewis and Boyle have a leg up, but they had a leg up a year ago and were leap-frogged by Moller and Simmonds.

Loktionov or Wudrick could be a wild-card for the fall. You just don’t know how much growing will occur in the next several months. If something like that happens, it still might not mean they end up on the Kings, but it could make for some interesting “champagne problems” for Dean in September.

I choose to be excited thinking about it. Rather than bumming out because the season is over.

darko25o

” I choose to be excited thinking about it. Rather than bumming out because the season is over.”

Quisp – OM is not big enough to play center. If you are in my building and I see you send OM over the boards, then I will match with Thorton, Jokinen, or Getzlaf over.

I would like to see Lewis play one more year in Manchester, with a 20 game call up. All aspects of his game continue to improve.

darko25o

Jet,
Giroux is doing well, really well, and he’s the same size, even a few pounds smaller than Moller the Mauler.

jet

Darko – Giroux was called up midyear and picked up a concussion in his 5th game. Do you think he will make it through next year?
The West is also bigger in the middle.

Quisp

jet, re moller –

there are numerous counter-examples, but there really isn’t much point listing them. It doesn’t really matter who you put up against Oscar if he skates around you. Also, it kind of depends on who else is on your team. If you’re sending Getzlaf or Thornton out to line-match against Moller, that makes life easy for Kopitar et al. This is why the old Millen/Donnelly line worked. They were the third line, which on the 2009 Kings would be the fourth line.

Frankly, I think all of the discussion of Moller’s size is overblown. He beat out several players ahead of him on the depth chart to make the team, among them Boyle, Purcell, Moulson, Lewis…all several inches taller than Moller.

I will buy up everyone’s Moller stock and sell it back to you when he’s leading the team in points.

darko25o

Quisp,
You are really on to something here….
Why hasn’t a site been developed where you are given a certain amount of “fantasy” shares, and based on performance, their stock will either increase or devalue. It would absolutely give validation to alot of members on this site if they could simply reference their “portfolio”. IE.-I bought Moller for .50, and he’s up to Sundin-esque proportions.
Jet,
You’re right on about the west, but McDonald did alright, so have Kariya, Marchant, Gagner,Peca, and Pavelski-all under 5 11″ 190lbs. When you talk concussions though…just another reason I’d take Moller over Giroux. Theres a very good chance Philly tries to move a big ca$h name in the offseason, and I know Briere’s name has been brought up alot because of the progression of Giroux.

darko25o

…just noticed that we could have had Giroux, he went two picks after Lewis

Quisp

darko25o, re Kings stock exchange –

I’ve been trying to figure out how to do just that…without having to crunch numbers every night. You could also have ex-Kings on the stock exchange, Blake, Cammy, et al. In a way, it’s like a fantasy league with only one team.

Doughty-Drewiske/Hickey (based on who has a better camp)
Johnson-Quincey
Greene-O’Donnell

Quick
Ersberg

Ersberg

We’d have to shed salary to do that line-up, AK.

Zus and JJ would likely be gone, and possibly Fro.

Gabs will likely command $7m, and Hossa $8m.

darko25o

Quisp-
maybe if the stock rose or dropped based on weekly, or monthly, averages. Yahoo fantasy hockey does all the math for you, it would just be a matter of giving monetary values to each category, and adding them up.

AK47

Ersberg-

I meant one of the 3 lol, not all 3! We sign either Gaborik, or Hossa or Havlat..

AK,
With the skill level in this draft, i think our pick will be plugged in to the 3rd or 4th line immediately out of camp. And if I may….just a few more words about my hope for the draft, if he’s still around-MSP-http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=417287

There are certailny a lot of signs out there that Tampa will try and move Vinny, whose cap hit is ~7.7 for a looooong time, and if NYI takes Hedman at #1, that really makes the likelihood of Vinny leaving skyrocket as Tampa could take Tavares.

So, my quesiton is, would you trade for Vinny? Personally I’d be OK with it ONLY if we kept Frolov and got rid of one of Zus or Stoll in the process. We would also be fine with just the upgrade at wing, but then again having Vinny and Kopi locked up for 7 years down the middle is somewhat more in the Detroit/San Jose mold (Datsyuk/Zetterberg, Thorton/Marleau). If you sign Boynton to replace Johnson at ~ 3.2 mill, trade some picks for Sturm or somebody equivalent to replace Calder, or maybe have Moulson or another rook take that spot, you can ice this team:

Not too shabby. Dare I say that’s a playoff team with good goaltending from Quick for a full year?

If my math is correct is fits nicely under the cap as well. I believe that team, including buyouts, would give us a $49-50 mill cap hit for next year. After that it gets really complicated and my brain started to hurt once I factored in raises for Quincey, Frolov, Quick, etc and Cloutier’s buyout gone. I don’t know, we’d probably need 4-6 extra to keep everyone around after that, and if the cap goes down we’d be in a little pickle, but it may work.

Unlikely, but interesting, and knowing how DL prefers trade to UFA and prefers Centers to wingers AND recently said Kopi isn’t a #1 center on a good team, its not entirely out of the question.

Just a thought, was getting some good discussion on HF boards so I was wondering what all y’all thought about it.

On a side note, I hope that DL takes the Holland mold when it comes to keeping Frolov around. Sign Frolov through retirement or close to it and keep his cap hit down below 5 in the process. That would help out a TON.

Frolov for 9 yrs at a 4.5 cap hit, how about it huh? 6.5 mill for two years, 5.5 for two, 4.5 for two, 3.5 for one, 2.5 for one, 1.5 for one. I’d be down.

Ersberg

No, Fro+JJ+1st is completely fair. You’re talking about a 50-goal scorer AND playmaker. Not to mention he’d be our best skater.

Fair or not, getting a center AND losing Frolov leaves us pathetic on wing.

Really, whether we get a winger or a center, we need Frolov as well.

50 goals or not, whoever gets him is stuck with him for 11 years, making a boatload of money (his ACTUAL salary is 10 million for the next 5 years or so), Frolov and JJ and 1st might be fair value, all things being equal, but if we lose Frolov AND the 5th overall, not only do we weaken our already wing position now, but also in the future by missing out on being able to draft MPS. (I’ve become convinced he will be available at #5).

I’m fine with letting go of JJ for a return like that, maybe even JJ + 5th overall, or maaaaaybe, if I’m drunk, JJ + Frolov, but all three? Fair value or not, it wrecks us a little too much imo.

So we’ve got one vote for yay Lecavelier. AK, I’m very curious to hear your thoughts.

Quisp

Re potential trades with Tampa Bay –

Factor this in. VL is the centerpiece and face of their franchise and a pillar in the TB community. There is simply no way they are going to trade him away unless the deal is a slam-dunk for them. Not “fair.” Not “even.” A slam dunk. Because they have to sell it to the fans.

I think fair would be Frolov, Johnson, Hickey and the 1st. But that’s not good enough. It would probably take

Frolov, Doughty, Hickey and the 1st.

Don’t want to give up Doughty? Why? Because he’s the face of the franchise? See how it works? They don’t want to give up VL either… Okay, how about Frolov, Simmonds, Johnson, Quincey, Hickey and a 1st?

it’s not worth it. you can’t go out and get a superstar and offer up Handzus in return.

Quisp

Re potential trades with Tampa Bay –

Factor this in. VL is the centerpiece and face of their franchise and a pillar in the TB community. There is simply no way they are going to trade him away unless the deal is a slam-dunk for them. Not “fair.” Not “even.” A slam dunk. Because they have to sell it to the fans.

I think fair would be Frolov, Johnson, Hickey and the 1st. But that’s not good enough. It would probably take

Frolov, Doughty, Hickey and the 1st.

Don’t want to give up Doughty? Why? Because he’s the face of the franchise? See how it works? They don’t want to give up VL either… Okay, how about Frolov, Simmonds, Johnson, Quincey, Hickey and a 1st?

it’s not worth it. you can’t go out and get a superstar and offer up Handzus in return.

JDM

Well obviously they aren’t giving him away for free.

I think Frolov, Doughty, Hickey and a 1st is a little absurd.

It really depends on how badly Tampa wants to cut payroll.
Johnson, Zus, Purcell and picks is nothing to sneeze at, but I get your overall point of having to sell it to the fans.

If however they trade away Vinny in order to cut payroll, they aren’t going to want to take a ton of payroll back either.

I don’t think anyone actually wants to trade for Vinny’s contract. The fact that it is so long and still has a cap hit of almost 8 mill is pretty lame, and I can’t imagine a GM who would trade for him while tearing his team apart.

If I thought there were a bunch of teams who would team interested then I would agree fully that he would cost WAY too much, however if ownership in Tampa (who the hell knows that those morons who have no business running a hockey team will do) really wants to get Vinny’s contract off the books, then I believe there will only be a few takers, and I doubt there would be any packages offered equivalent to Frolov, Doughty, Hickey and a 1st. Maybe Frolov, Hickey and a 1st and something else, but not Doughty.

Its kind of fun watching the guessing game that is going on in Tampa bay. They may just want a bunch of cheap pieces with upside. Though you are right that it would be a tough sell to the fans, but again, I think this only happens if NYI take Hedman and Tampa doesn’t want Cowen that bad. Selling to Tavares to the fans, while not equal to what Vinny brings at all, would certainly soften the blow of losing Vinny.

From the Tampa GM spin perspective, it’s not Johnson + Zus + Hickey + 1st or whatever, its all that AND Tavares. Big difference.

Again, no way Tampa trades Vinny unless they miss out on Hedman and have a crack at JT.

Quisp

I just don’t think the Kings are going to go the blockbuster trade route. And it’s not like VL (for example) will solve everyone’s problems, otherwise he would have done that in Tampa.

JDM

You are probably right. I personally don’t foresee a big trade this off-season either. Next season maybe. That said I don’t think its entirely out of the question.

Quisp

No, never out of the question.

GoKings09

I posted this question in a different thread but it kinda got buried so I’ll ask again here since it relates to Tampa Bay and a trade.

As JDM said, TB may try to move Lecavalier especially if NYI takes Hedman first over Tavares(which I am kinda hoping for just because it will shake up a lot of picks near the top of the draft or lead to a big trade not necessarily involving the Kings but it would be more interesting imo).

If Hedman is off the board when Tampa is picking does anyone think they may try to trade down to about 5th overall to take Cowen and what do you think it would take to move up to second?

Also, do you think its possible to get the second overall pick without giving up this year’s 5th overall pick(maybe a package with a good D prospect like Teubert and next year’s first rounder)?

Should we try to trade to get Hedman even if Tavares goes first overall? Would we be able to get the pick from Tampa just by playing on their fear of Hedman going first?

What are your guys’ opinions?

GoKings09

Also in regards to the Lecavalier possible trade, I agree with JDM that if they decide to trade him it will be because of payroll concerns and that is why I would rather have us target Lecavalier or Heatley since Ottawa is going to have cap problems since they have too much money tied up between Heatley, Spezza, and Alfredson(who has a NTC) and as JDM said no one really wants Lecavalier’s gigantic contract. I feel like one of these two guys would be cheaper than going after Kovy. I think we should try to make a play on these guys if the price is right(bring back memories of last offseason? ok i digress) but not be set on having to make a move if its too expensive.

Ersberg

“Fair or not, getting a center AND losing Frolov leaves us pathetic on wing.”

Well…

From last I checked, we are allowed to make more than one deal a year, no?

We can still sign Gaborik(believe it or not, we could)
Sturm
Gagne(trade)

We aren’t going to make a huge trade in the off-season, that I’ve been convinced of since Dean took over. I’m bringing these ideas up based on need and value.

Ersberg

Lecav’s actual hit is around $7.7, so like Kopitar’s.

Ersberg

“I don’t think anyone actually wants to trade for Vinny’s contract. The fact that it is so long and still has a cap hit of almost 8 mill is pretty lame, and I can’t imagine a GM who would trade for him while tearing his team apart.”

Why not? Hossa will command $8m per easily. Vinny has a higher single season goal total than Hossa, and is a better leader.

I’d take Lecav’s contract for a hit $7.7m per anyday. I think TB would be crazy to trade him, but I think they’ll just that.

wisconsinKingsfan

So I got to the end of the comments I forgot that this was supposed to be about Lewis and I almost got sucked into the who should we trade for debate.

I can’t really comment on Lewis because I have not really seen much of him. I did like what he brought when he was up with the Kings and I do prefer him to Calder, Ivanans, Zeiler, etc so as long as he can play on wing I say let him play with the big boys here in LA.

darko25o

Quisp and JDM,
We’re absolutely going to have a trade for a top six forward. DL practically invented the three way trade in hockey, and after his speech about going after our RFA, I can’t see him taking that road himself. Signing a big UFA is still a very difficult sell in LA because we have no track record, and are still seen as a team in transition. We have the prospects, and the draft picks, and time is running out on DL. This is his year to accomplish something, and that pressure will push him towards players who will be an immediate result. Prospects that will be ready in two years , at this point, are not the priority because Dean may not even be around for their maturation. He’s proven throughout his career that he can pick talent, but its about the team in a King’s uniform, and not a Reign or Monarchs uni thats going to give DL job security. .

Who is behind Inside the Kings blog?

Elliott Teaford is an award-winning hockey reporter based in Southern California and witnessed the L.A. Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and in '14. He grew up playing outdoors on the streets of Philadelphia. He also watched the Flyers bully their way to consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1970s, and makes no excuses for their quasi-legal play.

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